When I got my apartment after my divorce a friend of mine gave me a beautiful 4yr old Siamese who was nonsocial and very small for her age. Not fixed and never been in heat she still looked like a kitten. After a few months she became my little daughter Ayla and finally hit puberty. Well over the years I began feeding feral cats in the neighborhood and fixing them. As litters were born I would have all the kittens and mom fixed and since they eat in my yard they also gave birth in my yard. Well an adult Grey had her kittens and everyone was healthy but then the momma got hit by a car and I had to put her down. All but one of the kitten were big enough at 5 weeks to survive in my yard but the runt was only half the size she should have been. A black sweetpea that became my princess Isis. Then in fall of the same year right at nightfall I heard a very sad, very cold mewling coming from a neighbors yard. None of the cats I had could have given birth so I hunted down the sound and found a lone mid-hair Grey only 1 day old according to the vet. I began bottle feeding Bella immediately and she grew so beautifully the vet was shocked she survived at all. She was then adopted by my oldest cat who having never had kitten began nursing her in lactating. Then a sweet grey stripe tabby Sammy was found in my engine bay. Only 6 weeks old and so exhausted she feel asleep in my hands, slept for 2 days and woke up mine. Now I have 22 ferals and 4 domestic and wouldn't change a thing!!

I was visiting my daughter when I found this beautiful but terrified big black Lab (Gus) running in circles in the left turn lane of a main road near her house. When I stopped my Jeep and opened the door, he jumped right in and laid down in the back seat. I took him to the shelter and nobody claimed him in 10 days, so I brought him home to live with me and he's the most loving, gentle giant (135lbs). Shortly after that I was looking for a companion for him when I stopped at a rescue in town. The room was full of beautiful puppies and pure-breeds. However, I heard someone say "She looks too weird with that eye of hers", so I looked over and saw a scraggly, black mutt, Lab mix, just sitting there as if she knew nobody was going to look at her twice, and hadn't all day. I rested my hand on her cage and she gently licked my palm. I was told that she was rescued from a terrible abusive situation, and she had recently had puppies who were in another cage across the room. She had one bright blue eye, and the other was brown. She wagged her tail as if she was afraid to get excited but felt hopeful anyway.. Of course, at that moment I knew that I wasn't leaving without her. I had to go home and get Gus to make sure they got along before I could take her with me. They got along wonderfully, and they are not only each others' best friends now, but my sweet best friends as well. I named her Ruthie after an elderly neighbor, now deceased, who used to give dog biscuits to the neighbors' dogs each night before she went to bed. I am grateful that they came into my life, and I am dedicated to giving them the best life possible . They're my angels.

Yes, that picture is the same dog. Teddy, a Yorkie, came into my Yorkie rescue from a couple that no longer wanted him. They nearly starved him to death before handing him over. He was 8 or 9 years old they thought. When they handed him over to me with not so much as a toy, a leash or even a collar, and so weak that he couldn't even stand, I couldn't get away from them fast enough. That was on Christmas Eve of 2003. My vet wasn't in so I held Teddy Bear in a fleece blanket for 2 days till he could be seen. When they took one look at him they immediately thought he had Cushings but the bloodwork they did would take 2 weeks to determine this. In those 2 weeks, I prayed they were wrong and Teddy began to get stronger, walking, eating, even wagging his little tail when he saw me. Finally the call came in from the vet...the test was negative for Cushings. I hugged him so tight and told him he was spending the rest of his life with me. Never a more devoted little dog you could find. I could take him in the biggest crowd and he wouldn't take his eyes off of me. Teddy was with me for almost 4 years when I lost him to Lymphoma. But that little dog changed my life forever. He is the reason I work so hard to help dogs get good homes. RIP Teddy Bear. You were very loved and deeply missed.

Chloe was a German Shepard mix stray that showed up in our backyard on February 24, 2005. She took residence in my house's crawl space through an opening she found and only came out to partake of the food and water that we had started leaving for her in the backyard and then she would go right back in the crawl space. She lived under there for 101 days, till one day in early June when some fireworks frightened her and she ran into our house because the back door had been left open and hid in the back bedroom closet. We tried to offer her food while she sat in the closet but she was afraid and would only growl at us. I said to my boyfriend let's leave her alone and leave the back door open so she can go back out. "But first cover up that crawl space opening so she can't hide under there any more".

The next day I came home in the evening, to find that she had been hiding behind the garage all day. I headed down the back stoop and started to head to the garage. I then saw her face peak out. She then came out from behind the garage and slowly started walking toward me, all the while she was shaking but kept moving toward me. I sat very still on the back steps and let her come to me. All the while she was shaking but she still kept walking toward me. Then I was petting her! She came to me and I was petting her! After all those months we had finally socialized her.

She was our awesome pet till she past away on Jan. 16, 2013. We did not know her age but she had been aging and deteriorating in health. We will always love her and bless the day she wandered into our backyard.

In September 2008 my roommate and I were in the market for another cat, one to be a good buddy to our 9 month old kitten we'd adopted earlier that year. Working in the shelter, I had easy access to lots of great cats. Little did I know that my heart would be stolen by a little orange 4 year old. Lester, who was then Endor, came in from the municipal shelter who found him living with a feral colony on the streets of New York. He was already neutered, ear tipped, and very very sick. The poor little guy had as many problems as you can imagine, he was severly underweight, upper respitory infection, conjunctivitis, parasites, you name it. He spent a good three weeks in our isolation area, getting pumped with antibiotics, good food, and lots of love. Through it all he was a trooper, taking his meds like a champ and calling for attention with his deep, raspy little meow. Although I was fond of him, I wasn't convinced right away that he was my cat. When he was finally better, he went to our adoption floor. Shy at first, but quick to come out for food and pets, he settled in. I tried to show him to as many potential adopters as I could, but I'll admit I was picky. He had been through so much, I wasn't about to let just anyone adopt him. It had to be the "right" home.

Then the unspeakable happened...he got the dreaded ringworm! This was what finally convinced me that Lester was my boy. So it was another 3 weeks in isolation, with lyme dips twice a week and lots of antifungal. When I saw again what a resilient cat he was, behaving for his lyme dips and forgiving easily, I vowed that he would be mine and I would never let him get sick like that again.

The day he was released from isolation with a clean bill of health I took him home forever. It was the best decision I've ever made.

I found a litter of 3 kittens living under my car one chilly and rainy March morning 3 years ago. I was able to rescue my little girl Peanut right away. The 2 kittens left were both boys and very wild. I was finally able to rescue one of them and he tore my hands and forearms up when I carried him up the stairs to my apartment. My husband called him Ghost because we only saw him for a minute and he was back under the couch. He would stick his head out to eat. Peanut and my older cat Tiger convinced him that life was good here and he was safe. It took a year for Ghost to let me pet him. Now he is in my lap as soon as I sit down and he follows me around the house. He is a very spoiled and happy silly boy and I love him.

Lucky Spark came in the day after "Spark Day" this year, a holiday created in honor of an old dog on the brink of death that Wetzel County Animal Shelter saved by keeping the Spark of Life alive in him and helping "Sparky" find a home to enjoy for the last nine months of his life. She was named in honor of the holiday. This poor girl was sitting alone in a rural area and someone stopped to help her. She clearly was starving and is very underweight. The Good Samaritan brought her to Wetzel County Animal Shelter in New Martinsville, WV where she is estimated to be 1 to 2 years old. She weighs only 33 lbs. -- so underweight for a boxer mix, but despite the neglect oh so sweet.and loving! There they bathed her and gave her the primary vaccines to ensure her good health. This dog is most certainly lucky to have found her way to the shelter, but to follow in Sparky's pawprints she needs to find a home of her own. Right now she waits at the shelter, happy to have found an oasis of compassion, but longing for a dog bed of her own to snuggle in and a person of her own to love.

I rescued Sunnie from a Backyard Scumbag Breeder. When I took her to the vet I was told she was pregnant. 10 days later she gave birth to 3 beautiful puppies which I kept them all. Sunnie was used as a breeding machine. She was skin and bones. Now she is a loving healthy mommy. And a good mommy she is. Would not give her up for the world. Love my Sunnie Girl.

I decided to get a dog, a poodle, because of my allergies. He was going to be any color but white. No fufu dog for me. For months, every weekend looking, putting my name on lists and then one evening there he was on pet finder. The next day I went to the shelter to get him. He was so friendly and happy. I was told I had to wait three days. Three days later I was there waiting for the shelter to open. I never noticed how matted he was until the officer told me. All I knew was that was my dog and he was coming home. I took him to the vet for a checkup and he shaved him. They brought out this little guy I didn’t recognize. Oh no a fufu dog, a white poodle, but too late he already stole my heart. He would follow me every where. Always come when called. Waited on the steps for me to come home or at the door when I opened it. Always ready for a car ride or a walk. He was loved until his last day nine years later. Matty, I didn't know I could love you so much and hurt so much when you were gone.

When I saw him it was love at first sight. I believe I was around 12 when my parents told myself and my smaller sister that we would be dog sitting "Rex" for a few weeks. What we didn't know at the time, was that he was all ready ours as long as he wasn't aggressive. A friend brought him to us, and he crawled into my lap right away, and started licking my face. I found out later that Rex had been abused in his previous home. We believe his past owner had different men over (because he was okay with my mum after a while, but it took my dad a long time) and he had been neglected. He didn't know what a walk was, and never ate or drank as much as he needed, as if he was reserving it. It made me so sad and angry, but I knew the best thing I could do for him was love him with all my heart.

Rex has been with us for around three years now, and we have loved him. He is super protective when we're at home, but gets very timid when meeting people outside. I can't imagine my life without Rex, and I love him with every ounce of my being.

Even though he still has nightmares some times, we're all getting through this together. I love him, and I'm so glad he came to us.